We have word from the 'Piles that Wiz Fineron has capped off his Oz trip with the first ascent of the long-standing Somalia project on the front of the Pharos Buttress (just to the left of India). It's a very unlikely line utilising a shallow mono pocket - thus the alternate name, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. It has been given 33, which would make it the hardest or equal hardest route at Arapiles, depending on what grade you think Punks Addiction or Gridlack is. Well done Wiz!

I do think 'Somalia' is more appropriate . . .
Zac was helping out and they were both very close to the tic . . .
Zac's fat fingers got in the way, not an issue for Wiz
Congrats mate and enjoy your exams . .

Greg Pritchard named and graded Somalia some time ago (early 90s), following on from the "India: It wouldn't exist without aid" and "Ethiopa: Requires even more aid than India" with "Somalia: They'll shoot you if you even try and aid it" and grading it bang on at 33 (in spite of never having been on it or climbed within even 10 grades of that and a decade or two before that grade even existed in australia). Fairly visionary stuff I reckon, and whilst I'd stop short of saying Greg should have given given a bit more space to snag the first ascent. Its still my preferred choice of name. Obviously its Wiz's call. This is just my vote.

And hats off to Zac for getting Wiz on it even when he was close to doing it himself. A proper gentleman climber.

Add another vote for Somalia although naming routes isn't a democracy. There's a Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun at one of the more distant crags at Moonarie, put up on a very cold day. It's not quite in the same league as the new one though!

I think the only people who keep regurgitating the name 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' is Ben Cossey (who came up with the stupid name) and Ross Taylor (who was editing Rock when the alternative name was first mooted and who now edits Vertical Life). Come to think of it, I might go and get photographed dogging my way up some old project of Ben's and give it a new name too.

And have to agree with Dave regarding Greg Pritchard's visionary call for the name and grade of the route back in the early 90s. BTW Dave, did you ever get on Somalia? And if so, what were your impressions? Curious to know why you or Nathan didn't spend more time on it. Or were you just leaving it for Pritchard?

Nice effort by Wiz and Zac though. They are both keen to retain the name Somalia.

PS. Some trivia for you: The route was actually bolted and named before Wiz was even born!

Thats awesome news! I want to name my next route 'When I squeeze my nose I sound like Axel Rose' after an inspiring Nancy Vandal song, but I suspect it may also be a mouthfull. I will call it 'peice of shite' instead. I heard rumours that Tom OHalloran onsighted Monkey Puzzle and Eye of the Tiger down in Mexico also. Exciting times (for them)

I think I might be with Eduardo on this one but (bearing in mind I am a total hypocrite), I reckon "Syria" might have a good ring to it - one bloke tearing it up, nothing changing on it for ages, a lot of commentary and no aid in sight".

On 5/11/2012 Dave J wrote:>Greg Pritchard named and graded Somalia some time ago (early 90s)

I was hearing that name for it before I moved O/S in '89.

Also, as a historical footnote, I think a rather strong German climber may have been the first to consider the line when he had a brief look at it after repeating Ethiopia in '85 but that's a long time ago and my memory is not what it was.

I concur with Dave. Somalia was written up as a hoax in an early THE magazine circa 1991. I can check the date. But from my memory (which isn't that good anymore) Nick White (UK) had put the bolts in this, and the the route to the left and a couple of equally implausible lines up in the bluffs on his trip to Oz, which prompted the claim.

On 7/11/2012 hero wrote:>I concur with Dave. Somalia was written up as a hoax in an early THE magazine>circa 1991. I can check the date. But from my memory (which isn't that>good anymore) Nick White (UK) had put the bolts in this, and the the route>to the left and a couple of equally implausible lines up in the bluffs>on his trip to Oz, which prompted the claim.
That fits with my recollection as well. The hoax storyline was that the (now) late Todd Skinner had climbed the route on a lightning visit to Arapiles.

On 6/11/2012 simey wrote:>And have to agree with Dave regarding Greg Pritchard's visionary call>for the name and grade of the route back in the early 90s. BTW Dave, did>you ever get on Somalia? >

Yeah I had a couple of goes on it at some point in the past. There was one move I didn't do (setting your feet up once you had the pocket so that you could then do the next move). Both times I went there it was because I was climbing with people who wanted to try India. I was never very motivated to do the route but, in hindsight, it seems like I probably should have been.

On 6/11/2012 Eduardo Slabofvic. wrote:>Is this the route that everyone who tried it and didn't get it gave it>a new name?

If i was a guidebook writerer I would call it "Set the controls for the heart of the sun" (or whatever wiz wants to call it). For posterity I'd briefly mention in a sidenote that Kimbo did a lesser variant starting via india (never mentioning the name of the variant finish to India that had been called Ethiopia previously).

The most worrying thing about this whole episode is that young freaking good climbers have any respect for what old farts think.

I think I might have missed something here, since when should one person's ability to look up at a bit of rock and think maybe one day someone could climb it supersede another person's ability to actually get the job done?

Give respect where it's due - he can call it whatever he wants in my books and if a guidebook author or the local hardmen want to keep referring to it as the "old Somalia project" for posterity then so be it. This kid (and I use the term in the nicest way) just tore up a number of hard Wimmera routes on a quick visit before finishing his exams. Prodigous. Let him have his day.